


What really happened

by Tryingmikeywinters



Series: What really happened?-Lamia [1]
Category: Merlin (TV), Merlin - Fandom
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Episode: s04e08 Lamia, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Post-Episode: s04e08 Lamia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-20
Updated: 2020-08-20
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:40:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,835
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26011270
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tryingmikeywinters/pseuds/Tryingmikeywinters
Summary: In which Merlin acts different, and Arthur wants to know what really happened with the Lamia.
Series: What really happened?-Lamia [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1888462
Comments: 4
Kudos: 99





	What really happened

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, I hate what happened in the Lamia epsiode, and I hate that nothing was done, that Merlin went through all that and it was never talked about, like, ever again. So I worte this.
> 
> It's not the best, I've never written anything like this, like ever.
> 
> I'm thinking of writing another Lamia fic, but actually show the events before the aftermath? Might make the events worse, we'll see.

Merlin hadn’t been the same since the Lamia incident. He wants to say that things went on normally. That he and Arthur argued and teased each other back and forth, that he looked forward to his outings with the knights of the round table, that he joked with Gawain like he usually did. But then he would be lying. Things were definitely not normal. 

He tried to be normal, he tried to act like nothing had happened, that he was totally fine. He tried, he really did, but he didn’t try hard enough. He just couldn’t. And people were starting to notice. 

Surprisingly, Arthur was the first to notice, and he noticed rather quickly. 

The day after the Lamia incident. He had been suspicious. After what happened, not that he actually knew what happened, he just knew that a creature had manipulated the knights. Well. That’s what Gwen had said, though she was very vague. She simply said that the knights were manipulated by a creature, and that she and Merlin, who had to deal with the knights as they weren’t manipulated, were exhausted. So Arthur decided to be oh so kind and let Merlin have the day off. That was when his suspicion first arose. When telling Merlin that he was to have the day of, he had expected…well, something. A look of excitement and a large grin at having the day off? Arthur wasn’t stupid, he knew he pushed Merlin a bit hard with the chores he made him do, so he figured that Merlin would be excited to have the day off. But nope, not even a smile. If not a smile at least, he expected a sarcastic retort. ‘are you being nice Arthur?’. Or you know, something like that. But nope, not even an ounce of sarcasm. Just a simple ‘thank you sire’ when Arthur had told him the news when they had gotten home that night. 

So, that’s when it had started. That night.

Arthur had wondered if Merlin was just having an off night, if he had just been exhausted like Gwen had said. But whatever it was, it continued. Even after Merlin had a day off. 

That day had been so strange. Merlin had arrived early, and gently woke Arthur up without even one sarcastic retort. He had made the bed, got him his breakfast, fixed him a bath. The water had been perfect by the way. He had helped him get dressed, never once talking. Arthur had tried to joke with him, with his usual quips, but Merlin never replied. He got on with his chores, eyes downcast, never meeting Arthur’s eye. He was acting so different. His Merlin would come in late, insisting that he had actually been on time. He’d be slow and lazy with his chores. His food would be cold, his bath water never right. And he couldn’t do anything without complaining or calling Arthur one of those ridiculous names. Ignoring the ‘his’ part, Arthur frowns. He had to get on top of whatever this was.

Gaius noticed. Of course he did. He had only taken Merlin under his wing, kept his magic a secret and lived with him for how many years? He wasn’t too sure what was going on with the boy, and he had felt guilty when a part of him had assumed that merlin would be alright. It was Merlin, he had gone through so much, and somehow, he always made it through. He always stepped forward from his slumps. A part of Gaius wondered if this would be like one of his usually slumps, where he would be fine after a day or two. Another part of him wondered if this time it would be different, if Merlin would actually get out of the slump this time. Whatever this was, whatever was going on, Merlin wasn’t saying anything. And it seemed that Gwen was the only person that had an idea as to why Merlin was acting the way he was. Whatever this was, he hoped that Merlin would be ok. It was unlike Merlin to be sad, to do things on time, without complaint or sarcasm to follow.

Gwen knew exactly why Merlin was acting the way he was, and she refused to tell anyone. Not that anyone had asked yet, it had only been over a day since everything happened. But if anyone asked, asked her what had happened, why Merlin was acting the way he was, if something had happened to him. Well, she simply wouldn’t tell them. If they wanted to know so bad, they should ask Merlin. It was his business, and he should be the one to tell them. If they really cared, they would try and ask him outright, or they could try and do something at least. If anyone had come to her, asking for help with Merlin. For help to make him happy, to make him better. Well she couldn’t refuse that now could she?

The knights of the round table were oh so blissfully ignorant. They couldn’t actually remember what had happened, and had been told by an angry Gwen that they had been manipulated by a creature. They had shrugged off her anger and went on with their day, or night, not noticing Merlin, who had been quiet, not looking at them. 

Arthur couldn’t help but feel uneasy. It had been too quiet without Merlin’s usual quips, and he hardly felt like he should try with his own quips, as he felt like he would make everything worse. He had tried a few times, to joke with Merlin, trying to get him to joke back, or even call him a prat or something. But he never said anything. Just kept his eyes down, not even smiling. And it just felt wrong. 

The knights were only just now sensing that something was up. The knights of the round table, Arthur and Merlin had gone out to hunt for a few days, and it was quiet, too quiet. Not the forest though, but Merlin. He hadn’t said a single thing, and usually he’d be complaining about something by now. Arthur would have said something back that he for sure thought sounded good or funny, and Merlin would retort with something that was actually funny, which would amuse the knights, and make the king huff. But Merlin hadn’t said anything yet, and Arthur was staying quiet. The knights were confused, and had glanced at each other, shrugging. 

“We camp here” Arthur suddenly speaks, stopping. The knights waited in slight suspense for, well anything. For Merlin to huff, say something, mutter ‘prat under his breath, roll his eyes, but nothing! Instead, he got off of his horse, tying it’s lead rope around a tree before getting on with unpacking. The knights found themselves sighing quietly before getting off of their own horses, barley getting the time to stretch before Merlin had come over to grab their horses.  
They watch as he ties their lead ropes around two trees before unpacking everything and setting up. He was done in record time. He looks up to see everyone, including the prince, looking at him in surprise. His eyes widen slightly before he looks down and fiddles with his hands. 

“Merlin!” Gawain speaks as he moves to pat Merlin on the back. He watches in surprise as Merlin flinches back slightly before his eyes widen, like he just realized what he had done.  
“I, sorry sir Gawain” Merlin mutters. Gawain’s eyebrows rise in surprise.  
“It’s quite alright Merlin, you didn’t do anything” Gawain reassures. Merlin nods, looking to the ground, missing the surprised and confused glances being thrown around by the knights and king.

It had been quite awkward. Not having Merlin’s constant quips and complains, or his and Arthur’s innocent arguing. It had just been awkward and quiet and weird. And no one liked it.

Arthur, who hadn’t yet had a moment to talk to his knights about Merlin, decides to try something, to show his knights that something was up. He knows that they know that something was up, but he wanted to show them the severity.  
“Hey Merlin, get me another bowl of stew, would you?” he suddenly asks, watching as everyone looks up. Now usually, this would be the part where Merlin would tell him to stop being lazy and get his own stew. He’d even throw a comment in about his weight, and would probably say that he really didn’t need seconds. Arthur would scoff and say something to try and embarrass him, the knights would laugh, not at Merlin but with him, because he was just so amusing, and who would talk to the king like that and get away with it? After that, Merlin would get the stew anyway, because no matter how much he complains, what his thoughts were, and what names he called Arthur, Arthur was still his king, and Merlin cared a great deal about him. He would always be there for his king.

But now, he gets up, gently grabs Arthur’s bowl with a quiet ‘yes sire;, fills the bowl up, and gently passes it back to Arthur. All this while never looking Arthur in the eye. Arthur looks at the knights as if to say ‘do you see this?”. The knights all frown. They really needed to work out what was going on.

The thought had never occurred to the knights, the thought that the reason Merlin was acting like this could have been because of the Lamia. 

It occurred to Arthur though. 

“Say, what happened that day? With the Lamia?” he innocently asks, and watches with interest as Merlin tenses, his eyes widening. The knights shrug.  
“None of us can remember princess. Gwen told us that we had been manipulated by some creature called the Lamia” Gawain speaks with a shrug. Arthur hums and watches as Merlin pales slightly. This worries the king of course, clearly something happened. Something that Gwen and Merlin knew about. Something that the knights couldn’t remember.  
“Merlin, stop being a girls petticoat would you?” he suddenly retorts, just to see Merlin’s reaction. He really hope he’d get to see apart of the old Merlin with that comment, but Merlin just looks up for a second before looking away with a quiet ‘sorry sire’. Arthur sighs.  
“We should retire for the night” he speaks, voicing his thoughts. The others nod, agreeing with him. 

The second night of their hunting trip is just as bad as the first. Its awkward. Merlin is quiet, and he, to the knights horror, refers to them as ‘sir’ whenever they speak to him. The first knight he had referred to by their proper title had been Gawain on their first night. He had been surprised and confused. Percy, the big softy, had stumbled when Merlin had called him sir Percival while giving him a bowl of stew. Elyan, who had not once been called ‘sir Elyan’ in the whole time he had known Merlin froze. And Leon had straight up blushed. Blushed! 

When the knights and Arthur had been eating, Percival notices that Merlin hadn’t taken a bowl for himself. So he decides to get up and grab a bowl for Merlin himself. 

Smiling, he walks over to the skinny boy, towering over him. And before he could say anything, Merlin notices him and yelps, scrambling back. Percival freezes while everyone stares in shock.  
“I, I’m sorry sir Percival” Merlin speaks quietly, eyes to the ground once again.  
“Enough!” Arthur suddenly shouts, instantly feeling guilty when Merlin flinches.  
“Merlin, what on earth is going on? You’ve been quiet for days, you’re not calling me names, complaining or using any sarcasm, like at all. You’re doing your chores without complaint, you never look at us in the eye, and you’re using our proper titles. So please, just tell us what’s going on” Arthur pleads.  
“It’s nothing” Merlin states.  
“We all know that’s a load of horse dung mate” Gawain speaks as he steps towards Merlin, freezing when the now standing Merlin scrambles back.  
“That’s another thing. The flinching, and scrambling back. What’s going on?” Arthur asks.  
“It’s nothing. It doesn’t matter. I don’t matter. I’m nothing but a servant” Merlin states. The knights and Arthur look at him in shock, anger coursing through them.  
“Who told you that? Was it the Lamia creature?” Gawain asks. Merlin flinches at the mention of the creature and shakes his head.  
“Then who Merlin? Please” Gawain pleads. Merlin frowns and hesitates before looking up.  
“Leon” he mutters.  
“What?” Leon breaths.  
“It was Leon who said that I was nothing but a servant” Merlin states, watching as Leon’s eyes widen.  
“I, I would never” he breaths.  
“When Gwen said that the knights were manipulated by a creature” Arthur trails off, watching as Merlin nods.  
“Merlin, I want to tell me everything the knights said and did” Arthur orders, ignoring the noises that came from the knights. They couldn’t believe that they had done anything. They couldn’t have done anything! Not to Merlin, never. But, it seems like they may have done something.

“From the start Merlin” Arthur speaks softly. Merlin nods. 

“We came across a girl, Lamia. It seems that instantly, everyone but Gwen and myself felt protective of her. We took her with us. I tried to help her from the horse but she recoiled, and Percival shoved me out of the way, telling me to get out of the way” Merlin starts.  
“I didn’t” Percy breaths, paling.  
“He told me to stay away. Sir Leon told us to pack our bags as we were heading east, saying that we were taking her home. I tried to remind him that we were sent to help the people of Longstead. But he said and I quote ‘you dare to question our judgement? You are not a knight! You’re not even a physician! You’re nothing but a servant” Merlin explains, watching as Leon’s jaw drops.  
“Some happened with Elyan at some point. I said to the knights that we needed to get him back to Camelot. Lamia said that there was a castle not far from where we were at the time. I tried to convince them that we needed Gaius, not shelter. Sir Leon told me to be quiet, that I had no say in these matters, and to either go with them or stay behind”. Leon looks away, from Arthur, from the knights. From Merlin.  
“I tried talking to Percival, telling him that we shouldn’t trust her. He loomed over me, using his size to intimidate me, and said that he and the knights had no interest in my opinion. He said that I should keep my mouth shut, or that he would shut it for me”.  
“No” Percy whispered, horrified.  
“Once again I tried to convince the knights that we were in danger, telling them that Lamia had been the one to attack Elyan. Sir Leon grabbed my arm, shoving me the ground”. Leon looked about ready to cry.  
“Sir Leon made me stay with Gawain while he and sir Percival looked for Lamia. He ordered me to stay with sir Gawain and said that I was to do what sir Gawain says. I tried to tell sir Gawain that it wasn’t safe when we needed more wood. He wouldn’t listen to me and glared at me, whipping the torch near my face”. Gawain recoiled, horrified.  
“I did that?” he whispers. Merlin nods.  
“Mate, I’m so sorry. I would never do like that to you in a million years, you’re my best mate” Gawain states, tears pooling in the corner of his eyes. Percy nods.  
“I’d never ever use my height to intimidate anyone besides the bad guys. I’m so sorry Merlin” Percy apologies.  
“Merlin, I am so so so sorry for hurting you. I’d never dream of hurting you. And as for what I said. No, I wasn’t sure what I thought about you when you first came to Camelot. But any mean-spirited thoughts or opinions I may have had, they’re all gone. Anything I said, I didn’t mean. You’re not just a servant. You’re so much more than that” Leon states, and Merlin believed him, he really did. He sighs.  
“Going off of your reactions you clearly feel guilty about what was said or done” he shrugs before looking up.  
“Gawain?” he questions, watching as he wipes his eyes before lurching forward and hugging Merlin, sobbing into the crook of his neck.  
“I’m so so so sorry Merlin. I’d never dream of hurting you, never ever. And I’d never think lowly of you. You know I wouldn’t. you’re my best mate, my first proper friend” Gawain states as he cries. Merlin smiles softly and hugs back, smiling softly to himself when Percy and Leon join the hug, crying quietly. Elyan, who hadn’t actually said or done anything, stands back with Arthur, the pair smiling softly at their little family in front of them.


End file.
